Ripley's Entertainment has unveiled the wax figure of boxer Bernard " The Executioner " Hopkins that was made at its Orlando headquarters. The reveal was part of the build-up to Hopkins' bout with Chad Dawson in Los Angeles on Saturday. Hopkins received "believe it or not" status by becoming the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a major world championship. At 46 years old, he defeated Jean Pascal, 28, in May, besting the record set by George Foreman 16 years ago. Ripley's has not announced which of its odditoriums the new figure will take permanent resident.

Ripley's Entertainment has unveiled the wax figure of boxer Bernard " The Executioner " Hopkins that was made at its Orlando headquarters. The reveal was part of the build-up to Hopkins' bout with Chad Dawson in Los Angeles on Saturday. Hopkins received "believe it or not" status by becoming the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a major world championship. At 46 years old, he defeated Jean Pascal, 28, in May, besting the record set by George Foreman 16 years ago. Ripley's has not announced which of its odditoriums the new figure will take permanent resident.

LAS VEGAS -- Bernard Hopkins thought he did what a veteran champion should do, that he took his younger challenger to school, took him into deep water. But when his 12-round title fight against Jermain Taylor ended Saturday night, he found out the judges of his title defense thought differently. They believed he spent too much time in recess, too much time wading in the shallow end of the pool, namely the early rounds. As a result, a disbelieving 40-year-old Hopkins lost his undisputed middleweight title and four title belts by split decision.

It's not in a boxer's nature to stand motionless, but that was the challenge for Bernard Hopkins this week. The reigning light-heavyweight world champion patiently positioned himself for the wax-figure treatment at Ripley's Entertainment headquarters in Orlando. Hopkins struck a confident pose for two days while a body cast - from top of head to tip of toe - was made for the figure, which eventually will be at a Ripley's museum. The first step is not pretty. A bluish-purple silicone product is slathered onto Hopkins from his waist to his neck.

Ostensibly, the man across the ring is Ronald "Winky" Wright. But Felix "Tito" Trinidad doesn't seem overly concerned that Saturday in Las Vegas, he is facing an awkward southpaw who hasn't been knocked out. There remains this preoccupation with another man. "I think Bernard [Hopkins] is a great fighter, but Tito is also a great fighter," said Don King, Trinidad's promoter who often lapses into strange hyperbole. "The first time around the playing field was not even, and I'll tip my hat to Bernard if he can do it again."

NEW YORK -- Felix Trinidad spent the night contemplating multimillion-dollar options. Ricardo Mayorga spent the night at Bellevue Hospital getting stitches for a nasty cut underneath his left cheek, and treatment for a bloody nose and a swollen eye. Big advantage, Trinidad, reflecting on a solid night of work in pummeling Mayorga for eight rounds before a referee's stoppage at Madison Square Garden Saturday night. Trinidad, making a return to the ring after a 29-month layoff, will not waste much time looking for opponents to build on an already splendid cash reserve.

LAS VEGAS -- Sugar Ray Leonard emerged from a three-year retirement to dethrone undisputed middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1987 by tying up and frustrating Hagler as well as flurrying punches to steal rounds and win fans and ringside judges. Leonard and experts such as Bert Sugar said Oscar De La Hoya (37-3, 29 knockouts) can use a similar strategy to achieve as monumental an upset over Bernard Hopkins (44-2-1, 31 KOs) tonight before an expected sellout at the MGM Grand's 17,005-seat arena.

NEW YORK -- Bernard Hopkins is smiles and sneers. He is a compassionate athlete who considers himself a role model for inner-city kids, but he's also considered an obnoxious loudmouth who angers with egotistical defiance. It is easy to dismiss him as an arrogant blowhard. After all, he incited the wrath of an entire commonwealth by ripping up Puerto Rican flags, throwing black beans and rice at the island's proud champion and using war metaphors when a nation beckons for healing hands.

NEW YORK -- Proving that his fists had more bite than his contemptuous words, Bernard Hopkins throttled Felix "Tito" Trinidad on Saturday night to become the undisputed middleweight champion of the world. Ending his superb marksmanship with a short right hook, Hopkins ended Trinidad's undefeated run at 40 with a technical knockout at 1 minute, 18 seconds of the 12th round. Trinidad was left staggering on the ropes, the low point of a night when he looked dazed and confused by Hopkins' brilliant fight plan.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Jermain Taylor says he often makes the 135-mile trip here from his Little Rock, Ark., hometown for a fun weekend. But the middleweight champion didn't have as much fun Saturday night as he expected. Instead of showcasing the boxing skills he had sharpened and the confidence he had boosted with new trainer Emanuel Steward, he barely survived a boxing lesson from challenger Winky Wright. With his left eye swollen shut for his efforts, Taylor was happiest to describe the best parts of his Saturday night in the FedEx Forum.

A sports figure has accomplished something either amazing or strange if he or she lands in the same hall of fame as Lady Gaga's meat dress. Consider Bernard Hopkins a little of both. The 46-year-old boxer is currently in Orlando having his image cast in silicone and wax for Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum. He is the first boxer and athlete, if you don't consider WWE a sport, to receive the honor. His wax sculpture is expected to be unveiled during the week of October 15, before his next fight against 29-year-oldChad Dawson.

Just days before a title bout that could eclipse the miracles of George Foreman, ageless phenomenon Bernard Hopkins addressed what really matters: Questioning former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb's blackness and mettle. According to Hopkins, McNabb had a privileged childhood in suburban Chicago and, as a result, is not black enough or tough enough, at least compared with, say, himself, Michael Vick and Terrell Owens. "Forget this," Hopkins said, pointing to his own dark skin.

[caption id="attachment_294" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. press conference for their upcoming fight in the ring on Saturday, April 3. in Las Vegas NV. March 31,2010. Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News"] [/caption] Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins are certainly past their prime fighting days. But when these two 40-plus-year old men step into the ring at Mandalay Bay Saturday night, they have one major advantage.

LAS VEGAS -- The master of ceremonies at a Thursday news conference misspoke when he labeled tonight's fight between Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright a nontitle affair. Hopkins, who will give Wright a chance to take away his Ring Magazine light heavyweight belt at Mandalay Bay, corrected the speaker. "The writers and Ring Magazine, they combined their thoughts together, and they put forth a king in every division," Hopkins said later. "This is not the WBC, the IBO, the IBF or the WBA. They put forth the Ring Magazine champion as `the guy in the division.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Jermain Taylor says he often makes the 135-mile trip here from his Little Rock, Ark., hometown for a fun weekend. But the middleweight champion didn't have as much fun Saturday night as he expected. Instead of showcasing the boxing skills he had sharpened and the confidence he had boosted with new trainer Emanuel Steward, he barely survived a boxing lesson from challenger Winky Wright. With his left eye swollen shut for his efforts, Taylor was happiest to describe the best parts of his Saturday night in the FedEx Forum.

There are two stories here. You've heard bits and pieces of the first one before: Street-thug teenager hitches a slow ride to prison, where he spends 56 months enslaved by his ego and arrogance. The second involves a professional boxer considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of this generation; a millionaire several times over and devoted family man who fights to make history tonight. Bernard Hopkins knows each man very well. He is both of them. There are still rough edges of Prisoner No. Y415 that remain in Hopkins, if only for the purpose to trying to reach out to the thousands of solitary soulmates incarcerated at Graterford Penitentiary in Pennsylvania.

Orlando's Christy Martin (35-2-2) won a six-round decision in a women's lightweight match over Ireland's Deirdre Gogarty (10-4-2) at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Their fight was on the undercard of the Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno fight.HOLMES PREVAILSKEITH HOLMES needed only one punch to turn a tactical fight into a smashing championship victory.Holmes (28-1) used a devastating right hand in the ninth round to upset Quincy Taylor (26-4) and win the WBC middleweight championship in his first bid for a professional title.

It's not in a boxer's nature to stand motionless, but that was the challenge for Bernard Hopkins this week. The reigning light-heavyweight world champion patiently positioned himself for the wax-figure treatment at Ripley's Entertainment headquarters in Orlando. Hopkins struck a confident pose for two days while a body cast - from top of head to tip of toe - was made for the figure, which eventually will be at a Ripley's museum. The first step is not pretty. A bluish-purple silicone product is slathered onto Hopkins from his waist to his neck.

Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins have agreed to a March 11 fight, representatives of both fighters told ESPN.com on Friday. The fight would be a rematch of a 1993 bout, which Jones won by unanimous decision. "I think it's very exciting. Bernard is very happy about it and so is Roy. It's fantastic," said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Hopkins. The 12-round light heavyweight fight is scheduled to be shown on HBO pay-per-view, though no site has been selected.

LAS VEGAS -- Bernard Hopkins thought he did what a veteran champion should do, that he took his younger challenger to school, took him into deep water. But when his 12-round title fight against Jermain Taylor ended Saturday night, he found out the judges of his title defense thought differently. They believed he spent too much time in recess, too much time wading in the shallow end of the pool, namely the early rounds. As a result, a disbelieving 40-year-old Hopkins lost his undisputed middleweight title and four title belts by split decision.